Tiverton hearing continues on proposed Seasons gas station; neighbors cite safety, traffic and historic‑district harms

Tiverton, R.I. — The Tiverton Zoning Board of Review continued a public hearing Jan. 14 at Tiverton Town Hall on an application for three special‑use permits for a Seasons Corner Market at the intersection of Main Road and Souza Road, hearing several hours of objections from residents, preservation advocates and public‑safety witnesses.

Chair Lizzie Gescheid opened the session by reminding attendees of the legal standards the board must apply and the limited issues the town’s ordinance requires it to decide. "This project is conditionally granted subject to the petitioners establishing a number of elements that are statutorily required for each special use permit," Gescheid told the room, summarizing the board’s obligation to weigh evidence on public convenience, safety, compatibility with neighboring uses, nuisance and consistency with the town’s comprehensive plan.

The applicant seeks three special‑use permits: a gasoline filling station (8 pumps), a 4,000‑square‑foot convenience store, and nonconforming signage. Dozens of residents described the parcel as surrounded by long‑standing homes and historic properties and said the proposed development would be incompatible with the area’s character and unsafe at the busy four‑way intersection.

"The Seasons Corner Market proposed location ... will most definitely be detrimental to public safety, health, and welfare," said Tracy Haywood, who identified herself as a nearby resident. Other neighbors described frequent near‑misses, difficulty making left turns out of side streets, and a pattern of traffic backups that they said would be made worse by cars slowing to enter the site, vehicles queued at a drive‑through and delivery trucks accessing pumps and loading areas.

Several speakers asked the board to view the proposal as primarily a gas‑station project rather than a small convenience store. "What is being proposed is not a convenience store ... it is a classic gas station," said resident John Reed, who pointed to the prominence of pumps, canopy lighting and pump‑side signage in the applicant’s plan.

Public‑safety and traffic concerns were the dominant themes. Residents and a village homeowners’ letter warned of higher collision risk at the curved Main/Souza/Schooner intersection, and a written submission from Village of Mount Hope Bay residents noted their property is "just 570 feet west of the proposed project." The village letter also said homeowners had spent "approximately $450,000" on retention‑pond upgrades and asked the board to require an environmental review for potential contaminated runoff.

Speakers questioned key parts of the applicant’s technical record. Counsel for PreserveTiverton, Karen Benson, confirmed that a Hendricks report appears on the master exhibit list (marked in the record as exhibit 13) but urged the board to consider whether portions of that material are relevant and whether methodology was presented in a way that allows cross‑examination. Chair Gescheid signaled an inclination to leave contested materials in the record for the board to weigh at deliberation, saying the board would decide what weight to give disputed testimony and reports.

The hearing also included procedural activity. The board set a schedule for post‑hearing filings and a hearing timeline: opening briefs were set to be filed by March 7, reply briefs by March 21, and the board tentatively scheduled an oral argument / question session in mid‑April (April 16) followed by public deliberations. The board also left the docket open for written public comment until the close of business on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 (listed by the chair as 1:30 p.m.), and instructed parties to submit documents to the building/zoning office or by email to buildingclerk@tiverton.ri.gov with “Seasons” in the memo line. The chair asked staff to compile and paginate the complete record after the submission window closed.

Evidentiary questions that arose on the record included whether expert valuation or historic‑impact testimony complied with admissibility standards (the chair referenced the Daubert standard for scientific evidence) and whether some materials had been introduced merely by reference. Counsel for the applicant, Rob Stoltman, told the board he planned to address evidentiary and procedural points in written briefs.

Residents and neighborhood groups raised other objections: potential light and noise pollution from canopy and pump lighting, late‑night deliveries and dumpster service, odor and fumes, increased litter, and the effect on property values and mortgage eligibility for nearby homes. Multiple speakers highlighted that the intersection carries school buses, emergency vehicles and regular service traffic that they said would be more difficult to navigate if a high‑turnover gas station and drive‑through were allowed.

No decision or vote was taken Jan. 14; the board closed the public oral testimony portion of the hearing for that evening but left the written record open until the announced deadline. The board expects to accept written exhibits filed by parties, to permit simultaneous briefs on the record schedule, and to conduct a question session and deliberations in April and later.

Next steps: written comments and exhibits that citizens or parties wish the board to consider must be received by the building/zoning office by the deadline the board announced (via email to buildingclerk@tiverton.ri.gov with “Seasons” on the memo line). The board’s staff will docket and paginate the record after the submission window closes and will post scheduling details for the April argument and deliberations session.

The hearing transcript and exhibits will form the formal evidence the board uses when it issues a written decision on the requested special‑use permits.